


Midnight Magic

by Palefire73



Series: Loki Origins [42]
Category: Frigga - Fandom, Loki - Fandom, Norse Gods - Fandom
Genre: Gen, Life Lessons, Seidr
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-09
Updated: 2018-11-13
Packaged: 2019-08-21 02:17:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 11,477
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16567700
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Palefire73/pseuds/Palefire73
Summary: Loki is now seven years old and has had to deal with Odin becoming more distant again, meaning his preferences are, once more, for equestrianism and nature.As Frigga discovers a most upsetting situation unfolding in the Palace Gardens, Loki steps in and tries to help, learning a few things about himself in the process.





	1. The Malaise

In the very centre of the public gardens of the Palace of Asgard there was a magnificent lilac tree. It had been planted when Odin had wed the beautiful Goddess Frigga and it was imbued with the life-giving properties of Asgard; these had led to its long life and intensified vibrancy, with the brightest of green leaves and wonderfully scented flowers which were as beautiful as the rarest gems. Frigga adored the tree and usually found a reason to see it most days; sometimes in passing and at other times to attend it and ensure it was looking its best. So it was with great sadness she discovered one day that it was dying.

 

She told no one of the problem, so profoundly did she feel about it. Instead, she found solace in visiting the library to search the great tomes in the section which specialised in botany, hoping against hope that she would be able to find the cause – and possibly the cure – for the tree’s ailment. The library was a wonderful place to go to, whether it was to carry out research, read a favourite story or even to simply wander up and down the numerous aisles filled with books and scrolls from all across the Nine. Frigga had always loved it here, with the scent of the ancient wooden shelving, the way the dust motes floated along illuminated in the warm afternoon sunlight coming in through the windows and the way the sounds were muffled by the heavy dark red carpeting that ran throughout. She had spent countless thousands of hours here since she had come to live at the Palace and it was no wonder then that she made a habit of bringing her children here to show them the wonders it contained. The Princes had gone on many an adventure without any need to leave the building just by sitting at the feet of the beautiful Queen while she had read amazing stories to them in her own inimitable style. She had helped them to study for homework assignments and had shown them that there was almost limitless knowledge to be gained purely by opening a book.

 

Unfortunately, the search for the reason behind the sickness being suffered by the Great Lilac was proving frustrating to say the least. Frigga had started by looking through basic botany books that dealt with deciduous shrubs and trees, but had been puzzled to find that the general consensus was that lilacs were an incredibly hardy group of plants. There were a few minor ailments that could affect them, but these seemed to be along the lines of leaf damage by tiny insects or a bit of powdery mildew. In fact, the biggest killer of lilacs turned out to be their owners’ neglect in areas such as watering and pruning, which she was quite certain had not happened; the Lilac was her most prized tree and received nothing but the very best of care. She was left wondering what in the Nine could be causing the very beautiful specimen in the Palace gardens to be losing its battle to stay alive and realised that it may well be a problem caused by something that was not of a domestic origin.

 

Asgard was a realm that was open to and visited by peoples from all over the Nine and the places in-between. The expansive boughs of Yggdrasil were such that they overlapped with the spheres of influence of other universes and so it was possible for completely alien races to gain access to her domain. Of course life had been created, or had burst into existence, in an infinite variety of forms based upon millions of types of chemistry and it was perfectly acceptable to assume that the way these interacted could often be detrimental. Having read the complete works in the section on Asgardian Arboriculture, Frigga widened her search and began to look at the books which covered similar plants to be found in the other realms of the Nine, hoping that whatever it was that was causing the problem would at least be Yggdrasillian. The Gods alone knew how impossible the answer would be to find if it was not something of the Nine! However, the books she lifted down from the shelves in her search had publication dates that grew older and the scrolls became dustier and more fragile, and she began to lose hope that she would find out the cause of her tree’s malaise. During the breaks she took from the library and her day-to-day duties she had as the Queen of Asgard, she was often found near the sweet scented plant, stroking the smooth boughs and inhaling its perfume, trying to sense what was wrong. Unfortunately, her abilities were limited and all that she could tell when she used her inner mind to tune into the tree’s presence was that the life force was slowly dwindling and all of the life-sustaining processes were starting to slow down, leaving Frigga feeling quite useless.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

One afternoon, after Frigga had made sure she had carried out all her official appointments and was sure to have a couple of hours of free time, she picked up a flask of hot water and made her way to the private section of the Great Library. This was an area that was hardly ever accessed, so valuable were the contents, and the fragility of the state of some items meant that only those who were trained in their handling were allowed to touch them. Having made herself a cup of delicately fragranced Midgardian Tea, Frigga then washed her hands thoroughly in some lemon water to remove all the harmful oils from her skin before handling any of the texts she had asked to be brought to her reading table. She had almost exhausted the reference material available to her in the last few weeks; she really was scraping the bottom of the proverbial barrel and was starting to fear that she would never prevent the tree’s death, but this was one last attempt to find something of use before having to accept the inevitable. Taking a sip from her porcelain cup, she set it to one side well out of the way of the manuscripts and began the task of carefully opening them to read the ancient writings in an attempt to glean any information she could.

 

As the hours slipped away along with her last hopes, Frigga realised that the likelihood of discovering what to do about the Lilac was non-existent and it was with a heavy heart that she opened the very last book. It was a small book, with a tatty cover that was so old that none of the finish was still there. All the print had rubbed off and the corners were frayed; the spine had split in several places and the book-binding cotton had failed here and there, meaning that the pages were only held together by a miracle. She had not been going to read it, but it was the very last one and, having had no success with the rather more opulent and impressive-looking tomes, she decided one more would not harm. She gently opened the first page, being careful not to allow the tiny book to fall to pieces and settled back in her chair to see what treasures and snippets of knowledge it might contain. To her surprise, it was not a factual book in the traditional sense and as her weary eyes travelled down the words inscribed before her, she realised that it was an old journal and that it had been written by one of the gardeners of Asgard Palace in times long past. In the first few paragraphs, it became apparent that the author of the journal was in his dotage and had enjoyed a long career looking after the various gardens of the Palace and had indeed kept a journal for many years; this one was the one hundred and eightieth such journal according to what he had written, and he had donated each and every one of them to the Great Library of Asgard Palace upon their completion for the last one hundred and seventy-nine years of his service. Frigga frowned and looked up from the scrawling words as she wondered where the rest of them could be, but within moments her nose was back in the scruffy old book and she began to devour the life and times of the anonymous gardener.

 

“Móðir?”

 

Frigga jumped slightly and glanced up from the journal, in which she had been completely absorbed for a good hour. It was fascinating to read the everyday thoughts of someone who had worked for the Royal Family and she found herself compelled to keep reading. Yet it was Thor standing before her and she smiled a tired smile.

 

“Yes, my son. What is it?” “Móðir, it is nine of the clock. Fulla has put Loki to bed and Faðir has asked me to come to fetch you.”

“Is it really that time?” Frigga looked over at the timepiece on the wall and saw that it was, indeed, nine o’clock. “Gracious! I had no idea that the hours had passed so quickly.”

“He has asked me to tell you he would like you to take supper with him.” Said Thor, holding out a hand, “I am retiring now, but I will escort you.”

Frigga smiled and took his hand before standing up. She closed the old journal and placed it in one of the concealed pockets of her voluminous gown. “Thank you, Thor. I am actually rather hungry, it seems. I must have got carried away in my reading.”

“What are you looking for in your books, Móðir?” Asked Thor as he led her back to the Royal Apartments of the great Palace.

“Oh, nothing much. My interests vary and I got lost in a story of someone’s life, is all…” Frigga had still not told anyone of the diseased Lilac, hoping instead to simply make it better, but as she looked at the blonde Prince holding her hand, she had a sudden idea: Thor’s birth mother could have the very answer she sought. Jord, or Gaia as some called her, was of the very earth itself and might be able to tell her what was wrong and how to treat it. The solution could be only a few questions away after all. Suddenly feeling her spirits rise, Frigga walked along with Thor with a happier heart than she had had for weeks, making plans to arrange to meet with the Earth Goddess.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

In the meantime, however, there was another person who was aware of the state of the Great Lilac. Having been told about how it came to be in Asgard, Loki had found a special place in his heart for it and delighted in how it changed throughout the seasons, from fragrant blooms which scented the late spring air through to the bright green leaves which caught the Asgardian Sun in a myriad of hues from darkest stormy jade to shimmering emerald. Yet he had noticed the malaise that had taken hold of the tree and was watching with interest as it spread from the ground, up through the trunks and thence to the branches. The vibrancy of the tree’s life force was fading and whenever Loki chanced to pass near it, there was an air of diminishing strength and even of hope. He had not said anything to his mother because he knew she adored the Lilac, but deep in his heart he knew that she would be aware of the problem; the length of time she spent in the library recently added to his certainty and his young mind often turned to trying to think of how he could help to prevent the inevitable.

 

In recent weeks, the increasing lack of attention from Odin, along with a distinct drop in encouragement from him to try a little harder and to reach a little further in weapons training had caused Loki a fair degree of distress. Having enjoyed months where his failures were supported positively by Odin to the point where they had worked together to improve the young Prince’s technique in wielding the large and heavy weapons, the sudden reversal was confusing to him and he could not understand what he had done wrong. Of course, he was completely unaware of the Norns’ meddling in their destinies, as was Odin and everyone else, and so the family dynamic slipped gently back into the state of Tyr and Thor having more favourable attention from their father and Loki drawing closer to his mother once more. And rather sadly, it all happened so smoothly and naturally that everyone involved was just carried along and offered up no resistance. It was because of this that Loki began to spend more time back in the gardens and in the libraries, pursuing his studies in the things he found most interesting: botany and equestrianism. He was gaining knowledge in both areas and could often be found with Tân Golau as he cared for him and learned new skills in riding him. But it was the problem of his mother’s Lilac that began to fill his young mind and he became determined to put it right for her. It was not the only lilac in Asgard of course and the young Prince began to remove twigs and leaves from others dotted around in the gardens in order to carry out experiments on them.

 

He began with all the basic treatments advised for woody shrubs: certain medicinal powders, antiseptic washes, warm sunny aspects, cold and frosty conditions… the list was a long one. He discovered what each treatment could do and whether it would also harm the host plant and soon he had trimmed this list down to about two or three possible solutions. Yet one thing he noticed was that none of them included the use of Seidr. They were all things that ordinary Asgardians could do, but the young Prince’s mind had not stopped there. Remembering a few of his mother’s lessons from when he was younger, and combining them with a few tricks he had inadvertently come across when trying to hide accidental damage to plants he had caused by his experiments, he gradually formed an idea in his mind as to how to cure the Great Lilac. One fairly gloomy afternoon, on his way home from lessons, he had made a small diversion to it and had snipped off one of the rather poorly-looking side branches, hidden it in his tote bag and secreted it in his part of Frigga’s extensive greenhouse. Over the next few days, he subjected it to a variety of potions he had concocted from recipes in botanical books, along with a reasonable amount of Seidr, hoping desperately that he could make it work. These little stolen moments between lessons or on the way home took place over the course of four days and by the end of it all he was quite tired out, but one thing had happened which gave him joy: on the fourth day, a tiny green shoot had appeared on a decayed part of the branch! A sign of regeneration he simply could not ignore. He went to bed a tired child that fourth night, but there was hope in his heart, for he would cure his mother’s tree! As his weary eyes closed and the Sleep Maidens wrapped their phantom arms around him, a plan to carry out the healing formed in his mind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, #Loki fans...
> 
> It has been a long time and for that I am truly sorry! I have undertaken a lot of responsibilities in RL and it has taken me away from the keyboard. In addition, this story was grabbed by my beloved muse and ripped apart several times, forcing me to put it back together in ever-increasing paragraphs!
> 
> Therefore, it is a multi-chapter. I hope you will enjoy it and that it will have been worth the wait. It is a journey upon which Frigga and Loki will both learn things; some hard and some just magical.
> 
> Thanks for reading along,  
> Laterz, #Loki fans  
> Palefire73


	2. The Mothers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Frigga approaches Thor's mother as a last means of saving the Lilac, but she does not quite get the response she was hoping for...

 

“You do know of Loki’s activity regarding your tree, do you not?”

 

The powerful Earth Goddess leaned back in her luxurious chair and blew out a long thin plume of blue smoke as she regarded Frigga from her poisonous yellow eyes. The black vines crowning her head like a great forest in place of what would have been hair writhed as she drew on the black cheroot again. She had been watching this situation unfold for many months, being able to feel the death of the Lilac as well as hearing its swan song; a haunting melody that could only be heard by creatures that were tuned in to the very nature of the realm, announcing the departure of the sickly tree spirit from the known worlds.

 

“I know he has been messing around with leaves from other lilacs,” replied Frigga, “I have seen them in the compost heap, despite his attempts to hide them. I think he knows that the Great Lilac is ailing and he is probably trying to understand why… perhaps trying to learn how to treat it?”

“He is going to attempt to heal it.” Stated Gaia, fragrant blue smoke punctuating her words as she spoke. “He will hasten its death if he does. You must act quickly or you will lose the emblem of your union with Odin forever.”

“I would not usually beg another, but this is a life I am asking for.” Frigga cleared her throat and levelled a strong gaze at the strange-looking Goddess. “I implore you, Gaia, to halt the deterioration. I know you can feel everything, I know you are experiencing the death too!”

“I cannot, Frigga, as well you know. Everything has a place in the Great Cycle and if I stopped this, then it would only come about in a different way. It might take decades, even centuries, but somehow this Lilac is destined to die young. It is up to you to find a way to delay it if you must, but it cannot be stopped completely.”

“Are you saying that, even if I find a way to prolong the life of this tree in some way, then it will still die an untimely death somehow?”

“Yes. It is obvious to me that this tree is meant to die unnaturally. Whether it be through disease, drought, wilful damage…” Gaia sighed, “I am sorry Frigga. I have given you warning enough of Loki’s intentions and that should give you a chance to do something about it. However, I do not think you should intervene in his actions directly. Do not stop the child.”

“Why ever not? It would lengthen the time I have to try to find a treatment!”

“Because Loki needs to learn that he is fallible. He needs to attempt to cure the Lilac and he needs to fail. That, my dear Queen, is where _you_ will step in.” Gaia stubbed out the spent cheroot and took a fresh one from an ornate box on her desk.

“I do not understand. I came here for advice, not riddles concerning my son.”

“ _Your_ son?” Gaia smiled ironically as she lit the cheroot, “I know of his origins, Frigga. I know a Jotúnn when I see one.”

“Then you also know he is not aware of the fact?”

“Of course! It is as plain as day that the boy believes he is Asgardian! Why do you think he looks so much like Odin and Thor? He wanted to fit in and so he has. No matter. This is not helping with the situation at hand. As I said, you will step in and show him a different way of carrying on the Lilac’s legacy. It is simple. Tonight, you must go and collect cuttings from it…”

“But all the branches are diseased! I have looked.”

“Cuttings can be taken from more than just the branches, Frigga. You must find the furthermost roots, where the cells are still just about free from the ailment. Take cuttings from those and bring them on in the greenhouse. Your residual Seidr and the healing properties of Asgard, which are strong in there, will ensure their survival. Then simply bring the resulting lilacs on and replace the one that is dying.” An incredulous look crossed her features, “For the sake of the Nine, I left you enough instructions in the journal! You did find it?”

“That was yours?” Frigga was puzzled by this sudden revelation; had the Earth Goddess been trying to help her after all?

“No, it was written by someone who worked in the Palace gardens all his life. When he was a youngster, I realised that he had a special gift for the arts of botany and I followed his career, often appearing to him in this mortal form when he was struggling the most. I helped him a little along the way by leaving little clues to help him to discover important aspects of caring for the Realm’s flora. He wrote it all down in journals which he gifted to the Great Library, but it seems only you thought one important enough to consult.”

“It was a tatty little book tucked away on a high dusty shelf…”

“As are many of the most valuable resources in the known worlds!” Laughed Gaia, “That is why true knowledge is reserved for those tenacious and dedicated enough to search it out!”

 

Frigga frowned and looked away from Gaia, staring instead at the walls of the dimly lit room in which they were sitting. It was a strange and unnerving room to most people who ventured in there, with its walls formed of living vines in much the same way as Gaia’s long black locks. However, Frigga had been here on more than one occasion, being the adoptive mother of Gaia’s son, Thor, and she no longer noticed the oddness of her surroundings. Realising that she would not sway the Goddess on her attitude, she sighed and smiled sadly.

 

“Aside from all of that, am I truly to allow Loki to kill the Great Lilac? Just what do you think that will do to him? He is seven years old and…”

“And ‘nearly a man’ as he would announce!” interrupted Gaia. “Although it will dishearten him at first, he will get through it with your support, Frigga, and it will broaden his understanding of his Seidr and give him an important life-lesson. You are not going to lose the lilac; it will simply be a clone, rather than the original. Are not a lot of plants an offshoot of the original? I know you can use your talents in botany to make the new one grow in an identical pattern… refer to the journal. It will help you.”

“Very well Gaia. While I do not completely agree with this course of action, and while I cannot understand why you will not alleviate the lilac’s suffering, I will carry out your plan. Although it does seem a little futile if it will be destroyed anyway.”

“It will not be in your lifetime, my Queen.” Said Gaia, rising from her chair. A wave of her hand caused the black vines to part and the doorway appeared just moments before it was opened to allow a huge Frost Giant to step through. “I wish you well, Frigga. You are a strong and wise Queen and Odin is lucky to have you by his side. You are raising Tyr and Thor to be great Kings and I am quite sure you will help Loki find his true path too.”

 

Frigga rose from her own chair and nodded at the Earth Goddess before she followed the Frost Giant out of the room and back out into the establishment that it was hidden within. The meeting had not gone completely to plan and she had been left with a solution that was very wide of the mark she had been expecting, but it seemed there was a little hope for the future of the lilac – or at least its offspring – and she meant to take advantage of it. Any issues with Loki would simply have to be dealt with as they arose. Once outside the building that held Gaia’s office, Frigga hurried through the streets back in the direction of the Palace, her voluminous hood lending her a disguise from all except Heimdallr, who knew everything about the situation anyway and was not about to divulge it to anyone who did not need to know. As far as he was concerned, only her safety in getting home was of importance to him. Who she had visited was of no interest to him; it merely irked him that he could not see into the building in which she had just spent the better part of the afternoon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! Thank you so much for reading along to see what this latest tale of Loki's growing pains involves. I'm hoping to upload about once a day so that you get a daily read to go with your coffee break, commute or whatever you are doing when you check in!
> 
> For those of you who have read my grown up Loki stories, especially "States of a God's Heart", here is a little foreshadowing of the eventual fate of the Great Lilac's replacement ;)


	3. The Magician

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Determined to make his mother happy again, Loki sets out to heal the Lilac...

It was amazing to consider just how busy the Palace was during the day when one went about the grounds at night. Apart from Palace guards and servants, and the odd occupant on a late-night errand, the long corridors and huge public spaces were virtually deserted. As Heimdallr watched on, he noticed a small figure stealing through the gardens and looked a little closer to find it was Loki. To the Guardian’s amusement, he saw that the young Prince had a large hooded cloak on and had drawn it up over his head as if to avoid being identified! Keeping an eye on the rest of the Yggdrasillian universe, he followed Loki’s progress to see what he was up to and as he did so another figure came to his attention: Queen Frigga! She, too, had a hooded cloak on and a wry smile crossed his face; they were both about as disguised as an apple in a bowl of lemons! He could see that she was using a modicum of cloaking and her image did waver in and out of focus somewhat, but from whom was she hiding? It must be Loki.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

The Asgardian Moon was shrouded in veils of cloud tonight, lending a dimmer aspect to the landscape than usual, but this was perfect as far as Loki was concerned. His heightened eyesight meant he could see well enough where he was going and the large cloak he was wearing muffled the sound of the flasks he was carrying as they clanked together. Tonight was the night that he was going to make his mother so proud! She would waken in the morning and come down to the gardens for a stroll before breakfast and she would see the Great Lilac in all its glory once again, not the shadow it was starting to become. Loki could hardly wait to see her face when she realised that it was cured of its malaise and he hurried towards it now, eager to get on with the treatment he had devised. He had concocted two liquids which were very potent in their manner, one being a strong natural antiseptic distilled from the finest Asgardian Lavender and the other being a tonic of sorts, with plenty of essential nutrients that he hoped the lilac would use to revitalise its weakened boughs and withered leaves. He had spent as much of his free time as he could creating the two remedies, infusing them with a measure of his Seidr and his young face had been illuminated by the vibrant blue magic in the haven of his corner of the large greenhouse as he had worked. It had been difficult, as a seven year old, to steal away enough times to do his experiments, but he had somehow managed it and now here he was in the gardens to put his plan into practise.

 

He had waited until Fulla had retired to the small adjoining bedroom before sneaking out of his own bed and then slipping through the doors of the nursery. In his enthusiasm for healing the tree, he had neglected to think about the guards that patrolled the corridors of the Palace at night and when he had nearly run into a pair of them, his belly had flipped in panic and he had scrunched himself as small as he could, wishing fervently that they would not spot him. What he could not know was that his most basic emotions and strongest desires would always feed his Seidr and influence the effects it could have. As he cowered in the space beside a large vase of flowers, the guards strode right past him, never even suspecting a thing. Loki was not quite sure why they hadn’t dragged him out of his rather pathetic hiding place to take him back to the nursery, but Heimdallr saw exactly what had happened. Loki was still there and to any with the sight he was as plain as day – for a moment. But as the Guardian observed, the youngster seemed to go out of focus and he found his attention was drawn more towards the guards instead. Then, as they continued along the corridor with no reaction to Loki, Heimdallr was a little confused and surprised to have his interest suddenly back on him. It was as if Loki had made anyone looking at him so much more interested in everything else in that corridor that he simply avoided their gaze. He had not become invisible, but he had become almost part of the furniture and, therefore, had been largely ignored. In any case, it was enough to allow him to get to the gardens and reach his goal without being caught.

 

Glancing around the area in the dim moonlight, Loki carefully placed the two flasks on the ground at the foot of the Great Lilac and removed his hooded cloak so that he would not be hindered by it. From her hiding place behind a statue about twenty feet away, Frigga quickly placed her hand over her mouth to trap the laugh that threatened to escape and give her presence away. Loki looked so cute standing barefoot in the garden in his blue pyjamas, looking up at the tree before picking up one of the flasks he had brought with him. She watched as his little fingers removed the stopper and he tipped some of the exceptionally vibrant purple liquid onto a dark green handkerchief, which she could just about see was edged in golden embroidery. _Where had he got that?_ She wondered, but was then drawn back to see what he would do next. He began to wipe the soaked cloth onto the bark of the trunk of the tree and went completely around the trunk until he had painted a ring of liquid on it, then he moved further up and repeated the process, then again until he had to reach up on his tip-toes. All of the liquid had gone at this point and Frigga wondered how a bit of lavender coloured solution was going to heal – as Loki thought – or harm her tree. But then Loki stepped back and raised his hands as if in supplication, closing his eyes and lifting his chin. His young features creased as if in great concentration and then Frigga’s heart lifted with joy as the tell-tale thin tendrils of blue light began to emanate from his fingers. _He was using his Seidr_ ; something Frigga had thought she would not chance to see again because of the situation with Odin, but here he was putting on his most impressive display yet. The luminescent Seidr flowed from his fingertips and began to swirl around him, illuminating him in an ethereal glow. Its power did not penetrate far into the dark of the night, but Loki himself had the appearance of a being from some other dimension as the power around him grew. It was breath-taking to behold and Frigga felt the prickle of tears as she watched, so moved was she by the spectacle before her; even Heimdallr, who was in his far-off Bi-Frost Observatory, was impressed by Loki’s efforts.

 

Reaching deep into the very core of his being, Loki gave one last effort with his Will and sent the positive and healing Seidr towards the Great Lilac, which also became illuminated with veins of incandescent blue and lavender wherever it permeated the sickly-looking bark and set off around its whole system of xylem and phloem, reaching every dying cell with its antiseptic and healing properties. Loki’s arms fell back to his sides and he almost staggered back with the effort he had made, before opening his eyes to look at his handiwork. The Great Lilac was an awe-inspiring sight now it was bathed in the healing magic and he grinned widely. It was working! He quickly unstoppered the flask of nutrients and pulled another handkerchief – this one was a pale cream one his mother had given him some time ago – and poured a good measure of a highly pigmented green liquid onto it. This he quickly began to rub into the bark as he had with the antiseptic, but this time he began to mutter Words of Power under his breath at the same time, waggling the fingers of his other hand over the trails of green and infusing them with yet more Seidr. His limited readings of herbology, arboriculture and basics in the practise of healing Seidr had led him to this method and his seven-year-old mind was convinced it was all correct for the problem and that it was guaranteed to solve it.

 

Once the flask was empty, he replaced the stopper and carefully stepped right up to the tree, whereupon he wrapped his small arms as far around the main trunk as he could and rested his cheek against it. Closing his eyes once more, he sent feelings of happiness, love and regeneration, of love for life and renewal and he sent them right into the heart of the lilac to let it know that someone cared and was trying to help. As much as he tried, he could not find the Spirit of the tree to talk to directly, but he assumed it was fatigued both with the illness it had been suffering and the powerful healing it was now experiencing. He sent his love to it anyway and then stepped back one last time before gathering his flasks and cloak and setting off back in the direction of the Palace.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Up to the point where Loki had departed, both Frigga and Heimdallr had been captivated by the little Prince’s efforts; that a lot of love and preparation had gone into this was very obvious. The Guardian of Asgard watched until he got safely back to the nursery and climbed into bed and then turned his sight elsewhere. Frigga sat down on a bench opposite the Great Lilac and wept in the knowledge that her son would be absolutely devastated that what he had done would bring on its demise far quicker than it would have happened. The sheer innocent beauty of what she had witnessed was a rare and precious thing and the last thing she wanted to do was dampen Loki’s enthusiasm for ever doing anything like that again. Yet, what Gaia had said was true enough; sometimes the hardest lessons in life were the most important and it was now her job as his mother to help him through this one. It was with sad eyes that she watched the Spirit of the Lilac finally let go and fly up to the heavens where it took its illuminated place amongst all the other stars. The feeling was bittersweet: Loki had caused its death in the end, but he had also eased the poor thing’s suffering at long last. Suddenly Frigga felt a degree of guilt; in her desperation to keep the tree alive, she had not taken into consideration the misery that its Soul had been going through as it experienced the deterioration of the physical shell. She realised that the disease which had been killing it had not simply been one of its body; it had also been one of its mind.

 

The gracious Queen of Asgard turned away from her tree, reluctant to see the first real signs of its true physical death, and made her way to the greenhouse. Inside there were a dozen saplings, all cultivated from the last healthy roots she had dug up a few nights ago and which had undergone magically accelerated growth since then. There was hard work to do now: these saplings were the last links to the original tree and it was vital to her that she somehow used one of them to replace the dying emblem of the love between her and Odin before anyone else realised what was happening.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How will Loki cope with the knowledge of what he has done?!  
> Next chapter tomorrow ;)


	4. The Mending

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So, you're seven years old, you want to cheer someone up by putting something right for them and you're confident in your ability to do it.
> 
> How do you react when you discover all you've done is make it worse? Well, I suppose it all depends on how it is handled...

The following morning, Fulla was surprised by Loki’s sleepiness and how difficult it was to encourage him to wake up. However, once his blue eyes had eventually opened and focussed on the bright sunlit nursery, he had suddenly come wide awake and bounced out of bed to get dressed. He pulled on her hand as they made their way to the Summer Salon for breakfast, where they were going to meet Odin, Frigga and the two other Princes who had their own suites and no longer slept in the nursery. Loki spotted his family sitting at a large table set in a curved part of the Salon which looked out onto the lake through huge glass windows and he slipped his hand from Fulla’s to hurry over to them. Queen Frigga noticed him first and held her arms out to him as he reached the table so that he could climb up onto her lap for a hug. She ruffled his brown hair and kissed the top of his head as he cuddled her and offered him a slice of hot buttered toast to eat from her plate.

 

“Have you taken your morning walk today, Móðir?” Loki asked as butter ran down his chin.

“Yes, I have my son,” replied Frigga, wiping the butter from his face with her pale cream handkerchief, “I started in the new lavender garden near the Alfheimian fountains and then wandered until I ended up in the Topiary garden…”

“Near the Great Lilac?”

“Yes, near the Great Lilac.” Frigga smiled and helped Loki down off her lap and onto the chair beside her.

“It is a beautiful tree Móðir. Are the leaves turning yet?” Loki reached out for another slice of toast and a pot of Asgardian Honey.

“Yes, a few of them are starting to get their autumn colours.” Frigga gave Loki a questioning look for a moment, but then realised what he was doing. He was trying to find out if there was anything different about the lilac today, of course! “Shall we take a stroll there after breakfast? Perhaps we can go for a walk along the lakeside and enjoy the fresh morning air, all of us?”

“That sounds like a pleasant idea, my Queen,” said Odin, “it will clear the head and set me in good stead for the day at Court.”

 

Thanking the servers in the Salon for the wonderful breakfast, the Royal Family made their way down the grand terraces behind the Palace to the path that ran parallel to the lakeshore. For a while, Odin entertained the boys by teaching them how to skip stones over the placid surface of the huge lake, causing ripples in the still waters which mirrored the magnificent Mountain of Asgard. Frigga watched with happiness in her heart as they tried to copy him, picking up the smoothest stones and whipping them from the ends of their fingers in an attempt to send them as far across the water as they could before they eventually broke the surface and sank. Her beautiful features lit up with a wide smile as various cries of triumph and encouragement rang through the fresh morning air while the competition grew down on the shoreline. However, after a while Loki broke away from the others and came back up to take Frigga’s hand, “May we walk together while father plays with my brothers?”

“Of course, my son. Lead the way.” Frigga knew exactly where Loki was going to take her and a shadow threatened to descend as she allowed him to gently pull on her hand in the direction of the Topiary gardens. Yet she knew this needed to happen and it was for the best if it did not have an audience.

 

They wandered around the various paths of the gardens for a while, but inevitably they came across the Great Lilac and as they drew nearer, Frigga sensed Loki’s step grow slower and his hand became heavier in hers. Glancing at the tree, she could see immediately that something was very amiss and sadness grew deep within her breast as she realised that it had truly died in every sense of the word; all that remained was the physical shell and it would not be long before it began to decay and reveal to everyone in Asgard its fate. The time left for accelerating the growth of the cuttings into mature specimens that were large enough to swap convincingly with this one was running out, perhaps with only a few weeks left to do it before anyone noticed.

 

Loki noticed straightaway however, especially as he was gifted with the Sight. He stopped suddenly in his tracks only feet away from the Lilac and his young face turned to look at Frigga, “You can see it, I _know_ you can.” He suddenly sobbed, “Móðir, it… it was I who did this!” His hand slipped hers and he ran forward to the Lilac, wrapping his arms as far around it as he could and pressing his cheek against the bark. Hot tears rolled down his face as he began to weep and his voice cracked with despair, “I _killed_ her, Móðir! _I have killed her_!”

“Loki,” Frigga joined the young Prince and placed her hand comfortingly on his shoulder, “she has been dying for many weeks, my son. I tried to save her, yet I could not. She was beyond all curatives. It was her time.”

“It cannot be!” Wailed Loki, “She was your tree, she was the symbol of your love… what will happen now? The people will question this…” He turned away from the Lilac and clutched at Frigga’s skirts, “What will happen now? I have killed the tree, I have ruined the symbol of your union with Faðir! What will happen to the people?!”

“Loki please, you must calm down. This is not your fault! How have you killed it? The malaise has been a long drawn out one and…”

“I came to save her last night and all I achieved was her death!” Loki’s voice almost hit a crescendo as he blurted out his secret and Frigga could hold back her own tears no longer as she witnessed his distress. He truly thought all of this was his fault and that he had created some sort of disaster! She needed to help him to see that this was more complicated than he knew, and to make him feel better, but first she needed to ‘learn’ about his midnight escapade.

 

“What do you mean?” She asked.

“I… I mixed some healing agents and I brought them here last night. I thought I was healing your tree. She was so poorly and I saw it happening many moons ago and all I wanted to do was make her better! I brought them last night and one was a healing balm and the other was a tonic… But I failed and I have killed her instead.” He had stopped crying, but his voice was still very upset and snuffly as he spoke.

“Loki, I have to confess something to you…” Frigga took hold of Loki’s hand and they went to sit on the bench which faced the Great Lilac so that they could look at it while she spoke.

“Look at her, Loki.” She said, and the little boy turned his bright blue eyes to the tree. “She was a magnificent tree, an indication of the power of love that bonds your father and I together. Yet even so, something ailed her and I was unable to find a cure. I have spent many hours in our Great Library looking for something, anything that would help, but to no avail. However, I spoke to someone who suggested I try something else and all is not lost. Your balms and your Seidr did not cause her any more harm than the original disease and I am grateful to you for trying. What I witnessed Loki, it was truly magical…” “You saw?” Hope blossomed in that young voice and Frigga wrapped her arm around him, pulling him closer for a hug.

“Yes I did. The way you are combining ingredients and Seidr is… instinctive in you. It lights up with a vibrancy that I have rarely seen and what you actually did last night was free her Spirit and allow her to join her ancestors. Your magic released her from the torture of experiencing the death of her physical shell, something that I fear my remedies was actually prolonging. So, you see…” Frigga kissed the top of her son’s head, “what you did was meant in the right way and it achieved the best outcome.”

 

There was silence as Loki digested all of this and Frigga contented herself by simply holding him against her and stroking his arm fondly with her thumb. Eventually he sighed and asked “What happens now?”

“Well, we do not want a dead tree in the middle of the gardens that commemorate the marriage of the King and Queen, do we?” Frigga laughed gently, “That would not send out a very good message to the people, would it?”

“No, Móðir… so what can we do?”

“I took some cuttings from the last healthy parts of the tree a while ago, but they are only very young saplings at present. We need a mature tree that is in a similar growth pattern to this one. Loki, would you help me? I believe your tonic and your Seidr will be a great boost to their progress.”

Loki jumped off the bench and turned to hold out a young hand, “Oh Móðir! Yes!” He exclaimed, all unhappiness gone even as his tears were drying on his cheeks, “Come, let us start now!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope I managed to get across our little God's distress at the loss he has caused his mother, thereby reinforcing the reaction he had in "States of a God's Heart" when this poor tree met its demise again!
> 
> Last Chapter up tomorrow!  
> Palefire73  
> x


	5. The Manifestation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Having been given the chance to redeem himself by helping his mother directly, Loki throws himself into learning how to manipulate things with his abilities; cloning, telekinesis and repair being amongst the skills Frigga starts to foster.
> 
> But will it all be too much for him to handle?

Over the next couple of weeks, Frigga and Loki spent every spare moment they could in the vast greenhouse situated in Frigga’s gardens. When she had taken the cuttings from the roots, Frigga had not held out much hope that she would be able to achieve the incredible feat of raising and growing a healthy sapling to a size and shape that was sufficient to replace the dying Lilac before anyone else realised what was happening. However, with the help of her son’s blossoming magical abilities and the tonic he had made, they worked together in harmony towards the goal she had set for herself. His bright blue eyes had widened as she had shown him how to take cuttings in order to propagate the plants, and then he had become almost giddy when she had shown him how to clone the healthiest cells with a bit of Seidr. He had been so enthusiastic about this ‘cloning’ technique that he had tried it out several times, even when she was not there, and she had arrived one day to find him laughing merrily as two butterflies flitted around his hands.

 

“There was only one, Móðir,” he had giggled, “but I made another from it!”

 

Even as the tree in the public gardens began to really look less than healthy and became the topic of discussion amongst the head gardeners, the Queen and her son decided they were ready to make the substitution.

 

“We cannot allow anyone to see us,” said Frigga as they examined the specimen they had chosen to replace the Great Lilac.

“Then how will we do it?” Asked Loki. He was expecting to have to bring a cart and horse to shift the new tree, which was already a beautifully mature lilac, and he wondered just how he and his mother were going to make the substitution alone.

“I have a new spell for you to learn,” smiled Frigga, “Just as you learned how to make a new thing from an original…”

“The cloning?”

“Yes, the cloning… just as you learned how to do that, I will now teach you how to move things magically.” Frigga picked up an old broken plant pot. “Now, here we have a sorry-looking individual…” she reached for another similar one and placed it in front of Loki, “and here is another. Let us use what we have learned so far.” She placed the broken off parts of each pot with them and waved her hand over hers, which immediately became whole in the golden glow of her Seidr. She smiled at Loki, who moved his small hand over his and the pot before him became whole again in a blue glow this time, although this glow did not completely disappear.

“Do not worry, my son. You will learn how to get rid of that as you grow more proficient, but the stronger the spell, the harder it is to make it go away!” Frigga waved her hand over Loki’s pot and the blue faded away. “Now, make another!” she laughed, as her pot became two. Loki screwed his eyes shut and held his hand over his pot, willing the pot to gain a companion and with a little grunt he flapped his little fingers. As he opened his eyes, a feeling of fatigue washed over him, but there was a second pot sitting right next to the first and his face lit up with a huge grin.

“I did it!” he exclaimed happily.

“Yes, Loki, you did! Well done! Now… can you do this?”

 

Loki blinked his eyes in confusion. As his mother had asked the question, she had pointed at the bench upon which the pots sat and right before his eyes they had ended up stacked neatly, one inside the other.

“How did you do that?!” he exclaimed and Frigga laughed merrily.

“Practise!” She replied, “But you could do it. All you need to do is concentrate, reach out, feel the pots and move them with your Will. Have a try.” She unstacked the pots and put them in a line. “You are not physically lifting them, so you do not need physical strength. Simply… imagine.”

 

As you can probably guess, it did not work. Not the first time, nor the second, third or fourth. Yet by the time Loki was starting to feel a bit worn out through trying to move the pots into a stack and only having them fall over, he managed to get two together. Then, with a little encouragement from Frigga (and possibly a slight touch of help) he got three to stack, which raised his spirits enormously. Half an hour later he had stacked, unstacked, restacked and set four pots onto their heads. The more he managed to do, the more excited he grew and the more easily his Seidr flowed, causing the pots to do exactly what he wanted. Frigga basked in the happy giddiness Loki was displaying; this was just how Thor looked when he mastered a difficult manoeuvre in sword-play and the Queen of Asgard was not about to curtail this sudden mastering of an ability by one so young and inexperienced in the Arts. However, the unrefined use of Seidr comes with a cost and it was not long before Loki began to grow weary from his efforts, so it was with some reluctance that she bade him sit down so that he could rest while they talked about what he had learned to do. This was where Frigga was aware that she needed to be careful with how much she encouraged Loki to develop his skills, being sure to temper them with plenty of explanation about their use, their advantages and, of course, the potential dangers and consequences that came with them. His serious expression as she told him how the ability to magically move things from one place to another could result in missing parts and complete disappearances reassured her, as did his reaction to her warning about the dangers of cloning living things. A few plant cells, she explained, was quite straightforward and copied other methods of propagation widely used in the Nine, but to do something like making a brand new animal by copying another, was something that should not be done without serious forethought and strong enough reasons for doing so. He swore faithfully that he would not use his Seidr for pranks and silly ideas and acknowledged that he was in possession of powers that could do terrible things in the wrong circumstances, and so Frigga was content to leave it at that.

 

“So, my son. Do you think you are able to help me to move the old tree from the garden and replace it with the new one?” Frigga stroked the youngster’s brown hair as he contemplated the pots on the bench in front of him.

“How will we do it, Móðir? The tree is much bigger than a plant pot!”

“Of course it is, Loki, but as I said, we are not using physical strength here. We are using our will and our ability to manipulate physical things with our Seidr. We will combine our magic and work together, so this will involve a little of our ‘inside thinking’, if you understand?”

“Is that where we talk inside our minds?”

“Yes it is.”

“But you gave me that thing to help stop that and…”

“Oh Loki, it only stops the background thoughts which are not directed at you, do you not remember what I told you when I used the Dragonscale on you?”

“Oh. Yes, I do remember,” replied Loki, “so we are going to join our Seidr together, is that what you mean?”

“In a manner of speaking, yes. Now, we cannot be seen to do this. The tree is very important in our peoples’ perception of the strength of the House of Odin, so we must do it in the dead of night when no one is about.”

Loki turned to her excitedly, “We are to have a midnight adventure?” he asked, clapping his little hands together.

“Yes, Loki, a midnight adventure… to practise some magic!”

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Heimdallr had been looking forward to this night for over a week. When Queen Frigga had come for a private audience with him, he had been worried as to what she wanted to discuss with him, but what she had revealed had been a wonderful idea and he agreed to her request to keep a special watch for her while she carried out this important task. The golden-eyed Guardian did not quite turn off all the inputs from the rest of the Yggdrasillian universe, but he reduced the volume somewhat so that he could concentrate more on the Palace, its gardens and its immediate surroundings. Odin had taken Tyr and Thor out on a visit to the outer provinces of Asgard on a Royal Tour which involved the opportunity for the locals to spar with their Princes and so it was fairly quiet in the Royal accommodation at the moment. Perfect for a Queen to carry out secret missions.

 

Right on time, as promised, Queen Frigga rose from the small bed she used in the nursery when she was the one looking after Loki and went to gently shake the young Prince awake. Once he had blinked his eyes a few times and had realised that tonight was the night, his face lit up with happiness and excitement, and he bounced out of his bed eagerly. To save some time, Frigga transformed his pyjamas into warm clothes and boots and the two of them went to the door to peek outside. For a while, Heimdallr almost lost sight of the Royal pair as Frigga employed a glamour to make them less visible to anyone without the Sight, but he managed to track them all the way to the greenhouse in Frigga’s private gardens where she dropped the glamour.

 

“Keep watch for me Heimdallr.” She said softly as she led Loki inside to begin the night’s work and he smiled; it would be his pleasure.

 

“Now, Loki. We have a lot to do tonight. We have to take this lilac out to where the Great Lilac is, we have to tweak it so it is the right size and shape to match it exactly and we have to switch them over. Then we have to bring the dead lilac away and dispose of it in a respectful manner. Do you think you will manage all of that?” Frigga raised an eyebrow as she questioned her seven-year-old son.

“Of course, Móðir! We have been practising for a long time now and I managed to get the pots stacked straightaway yesterday. I can hear you when you speak inside my mind, so we don’t have to talk out loud. I can easily do what you need me to do!”

 

Frigga grinned at Loki’s easy confidence. What a difference in him when he was given a chance to shine in something he loved to do! The sickly appearance he had taken on after Odin’s harsh treatment and demeaning remarks was long gone and a ruddy-cheeked, blue-eyed Prince of Asgard now stood before her, chomping at the bit to get going.

 

“Then let us start. Remember, we will work together to move this lilac and I will cloak us from any guards we encounter. If you need to speak to me, do it with your inner voice, not your mouth! Are you ready?”

“Yes, yes! Let us do it!”

_“Then seal your lips and speak to me with your mind!”_ Frigga reminded him.

“ _Of course,_ _Móðir!”_

 

The lilac that had been chosen to replace its mother plant became wrapped in tendrils of sparkling gold and blue Seidr which combined into a rich and deep emerald green as the two of them worked together, and it was not long before they had managed to convey it to the site of the old Great Lilac. They set the new lilac down and Frigga took a moment to stroke the bark of the tree that had graced the gardens of the Palace ever since she had been Queen. It was a bittersweet moment, for as much as she rued the loss of the original tree, she felt that the installation of its offspring signified a new chapter of her life as Odin’s wife, one where she would be pivotal in bringing his sons to maturity in a way that would make them all great kings. Glancing at the youngest of the Odinson Princes, she asked “ _shall we?”_

 

For anyone who had the Sight, witnessing the switching of the trees would have been a once in a lifetime experience. While ordinary folk might have noticed a sudden flurry of a breeze through the rather dry leaves of the Great Lilac which did not affect any of the other trees in the area, those gifted with the ability to see Seidr being used would have been incredibly moved by the display.

 

Scrutinising the arrangements of the boughs, lesser branches, twigs and leaves of her prized Great Lilac, Frigga manipulated the growth pattern of the new tree to match them. As she did so, both specimens became illuminated in the soft golden glow of her Seidr in a pale imitation of Yggdrasil herself, with it only fading away as she finished her work and hid the tell-tale traces of her spells. Loki’s heart soared as he watched his mother work; ever since he had first been aware of her ‘golden sparkles’ and then had found out he was the only one who could see them, he had felt a special bond with her, both as her son and as her pupil. This was something no one else shared with her and he was eager to begin the part where he was to help her with his own vibrant blue Seidr.

 

“ _Now, Loki…”_ the sudden sound of Frigga’s voice in his mind made Loki jump and he turned to see her looking down at him fondly.

“ _Yes,_ _Móðir. Is it time to exchange them?”_

_“Yes my son. You simply need to concentrate and remember what we practised. Are you ready?”_

_“Yes_ _Móðir.”_

_“Then let us begin!”_

 

The two wielders of Seidr stood back a little and even if there was a slight chance that anyone was around to see, Frigga ensured privacy by conjuring a magical shield around the part of the garden in which they were working. They both raised their arms up and then the tell-tale fine tendrils of vivid Seidr began to emanate from their fingertips. Concentrating first on the Great Lilac, Frigga and Loki sent their magic towards it, the blue and gold entwining and becoming the intense green that signified their harmonious working, whereupon the deceased tree took on a heightened appearance and for one heart-breaking moment looked in the peak of health. But then the fissures in the bark became evident in the bright light, along with the drooping leaves, and the illusion was gone. Frigga and Loki gave one final effort and the earth split and crumbled as it gave up the extensive root system that had once provided the Lilac with nutrients and support. It was with great reverence and respect for it that they then gently lowered it to the ground where it lay and bore witness to the next part of their midnight magic.

 

Turning now to the newly grown lilac that was to inherit the crown from its progenitor, Loki and Frigga joined their forces again and were quickly bathed in the incredible glow of the green sparkling Seidr they were creating together. They lifted it up and moved it across to where it would hopefully flourish and be something that represented the solid foundations of the marriage between the King and Queen of Asgard. But just as Frigga was instructing Loki mentally on rotating it slightly anticlockwise so that it would match the original Great Lilac precisely, she felt the telepathic link snap and the tree began to fall to the ground too quickly. In that one split second, Frigga was torn between saving the replacement and turning away from it to see what had happened to her son. The green Seidr began to bleach towards gold as Loki’s blue faded out of it and it was with sadness that Frigga also let go of the tree and reached out to the little boy to grab his fur-lined coat and stop him from falling to the stony path. He had fainted and his body felt heavy in her arms as she crouched down and cradled him in her arms, berating herself for risking his health in this mad endeavour. _What had she been thinking?_

 

However, just as she was deciding to take him back to the nursery and ask Fulla to watch him while she remedied the disaster of the attempt to transplant the tree, Loki’s eyes fluttered open and he looked up at her in confusion.

_“Móðir?”_

_“Loki, are you well?”_ Frigga’s concern was heightened through their internal communication.

_“What happened?”_

_“You fainted. I think this is too much for you and I have endangered you through overestimating your abilities. I am taking you home…”_

“No!” Loki could not remain within the confines of their private conversation as his mother’s words sank in and he vocalised his emotions instead, “I want to help!” He struggled to sit up and Frigga helped him, wondering at his determination. His blue eyes pleaded with her and for the first time in all of this, she truly understood just how important it was to him that he helped her to put things right. She nodded and they got up to assess the situation with the two trees. Fortunately, the new lilac had not suffered any harm when it had bumped to the ground and it was not long before Loki and Frigga were wielding their powerful combined green Seidr and settling it in the spot where it was to grow. The sparkling emerald motes illuminated each carefully cultivated branch, twig and leaf and gave it a heightened and almost ethereal quality as it stood there, and it was a profound gladness that entered Frigga’s heart; it was perfect!

“ _Would you like me to teach you how to hide the Seidr Loki?”_ She asked.

“ _Oh, yes please,”_ replied the young Prince and he squeezed her hand excitedly.

 _“Very well. Let us start with a small amount. You have taxed your energy much this night my son and I do not want to cause you any harm by stretching you even further!”_ Frigga took Loki’s hand and placed it over a section of the healthier and smoother looking bark of the trunk. Holding her own elegant fingers over his, she began to will the tell-tale signs of the magic away from the tree and an area began to spread out from their hands with no green glow left.

 _“How are you doing that_ _Móðir?”_

_“Reach out with your senses Loki and you will be able to feel where the signature is clinging to the tree. Then all you have to do is imagine that it is no longer there. Remember, this is the same as moving the tree with your Will; there is no physical strength required, only mental.”_

 

Loki raised a picture in his mind of the lilac covered in an iridescent green glow and began to do as his mother had instructed, willing it to go away and leave only the ordinary appearance behind. Yet his inexperience meant that he could not help but to physically strain to accomplish the spell and after only a few seconds, he began to feel unwell. Sensing the change in the stance of her son, Frigga pulled his hand away from the bark, completed the removal of the green magical signature from the tree and picked him up. Loki raised no objection this time; the late hour, the excitement of what they had done and the effort involved in the expenditure of his Seidr had all but knocked him out. Just about managing to lift the dead lilac herself, Frigga magically carried it back to her private garden which she locked behind her and then returned to the nursery, where she finally dropped the magical cloaking.

 

_“Were we seen Heimdallr?”_

_“No, my Queen.”_

Sighing in relief, Frigga transformed Loki’s clothing back into his pyjamas and carried him over to his bed. As she lay him down and pulled the warm blankets up to his chin, his beautiful blue eyes opened a fraction and he managed a tired smile.

“Did we do it, Móðir? Did we exchange the trees?” His small voice was so laden with tiredness that Frigga could not help but smile amusedly.

“Yes, my son. The Great Lilac is in my garden and we will give her a proper send off in good time. The new one is in place and is already flourishing.” She stroked a lock of brown hair from Loki’s forehead and he smiled happily. “Loki, you do know that you must never tell anyone of this… it is a very important secret and you must hold it in the deepest recesses of your heart. Tell no one, not even Thor or Tyr. This is a secret that is for the good of the Nine and it is one that we must share… it is ours alone. Do you understand?”

“Yes, Móðir, I understand.” As the Sleepmaidens began to draw him down into his slumber, Loki reached out and caressed his mother’s cheek. “I am sorry I killed your Lilac, Móðir. I hope that helping you to replace her has made amends and that you are happy again. You have been so upset for a long while now… ever since she first sickened.” His eyes finally fluttered shut as he succumbed to his tiredness and Frigga was left staring at him as he surprised her once again with his depth of understanding and his inadvertent revelation that he possibly had other abilities she was still unaware of. She kissed his forehead and arranged the blankets around him for comfort, then decided on one more thing to help him get a good night’s sleep.

 

Removing her soft blue pashmina from her shoulders, she bundled it up and placed it next to his face on the pillow, whereupon he sighed and nestled his cheek into the cosy fabric which smelled faintly of sweet Asgardian Lilacs. Satisfied he would sleep soundly until the crowing of the Asgardian Cockerel the next morning, Queen Frigga of Asgard retired to the small bedroom she used when in the nursery and dreamed all night of golden and blue Seidr swirling throughout the realms of Yggdrasil, turning everything sparkling emerald in their path.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah, Frigga, bless her! In her good intentions are gifts that Loki will master eventually, but the sad matter is that the humiliation and rejection he will experience as he grows older will cause him to use them in a way that is not necessarily for the good of Asgard…
> 
> Thanks for reading along - I hope you enjoyed it!  
> Palefire73  
> x


End file.
